The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned Nigerians who respond to lofty job adverts to be careful of falling into the hands of organ traffickers.
Director General (DG) of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli said that criminals now roll out advertorials calling for the recruitment of young Nigerians as drivers, nurses and other professionals in some of the notorious Middle East countries and eventually used as victims of organ trafficking.
The DG added that some of these young Nigerians are also used in labour exploitation and sex slavery.
Okah-Donli also expressed the agency’s dissatisfaction in the 2019 United States Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report which placed the country in Tier 2 watch list which the country has occupied for two years.
She said this yesterday in Abuja, at a press conference on the occasion of the 2019 World day against human trafficking.
She said, “The 2019 United States Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was released on Thursday 20th June 2019, by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Like I said in several fora, We, in NAPTIP are gratified but not satisfied that Nigeria was upgraded to Tier 2 from Tier 2 Watch List which the country had occupied for two years.
“It is commendable that the Report noted all the efforts made by NAPTIP and other duty bearing Agencies to respond effectively to the scourge of Human Trafficking in Nigeria. In our own assessment, we believe that the report did not give due credit to the efforts of the Government of Nigeria and NAPTIP in particular. Our response is based on the fact that Nigeria has doubled its rate of prosecutions and convictions in the last one year, including the investigation, massive awareness creation and high scale enlightenment activities across the country, rehabilitation and sheltering of trafficked victims, and diligent prosecution of Government Officials suspected to be involved in Human Trafficking offences, including NAPTIP officials coupled with other traffickers.
“Gentlemen of the Press, I wish to use this opportunity to alert the nation on the emerging tricks and trends in human trafficking which should be urgently addressed in order to protect our loved ones. Due to the unbearable operational heat unleashed on the unpatriotic human traffickers in the Country by operatives of NAPTIP, these criminal gangs have now devised other means of achieving their dastardly acts. Some of the tricks involve rolling out advertorials calling for the recruitment of young Nigerians as drivers, nurses, maids and other professionals fake offer of scholarship, non-existing football clubs in some of the notorious Middle East Countries.
“As lofty and enticing as these vague offers may be on the face value, it is clear that these young promising Nigerians are targets of organ trafficking and eventual death in the process, labour exploitation and sex slavery. Many of them that have ignorantly responded to these invitations are going through hell, many have died and many may never be able to tell their story while the few lucky ones are still brooding over their bitter experiences.”
The chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mr. Franz Celestin said that they collaborate with United Nations (UN) agencies to address the root cause of vulnerability of Trafficking.
She said, “Together, UN agencies deliver as one prevention and protection, as well as addressing the root cause of vulnerability of Trafficking through programming at the individual, household and family, community and structural levels.”